Aston Villa vs 21.10.26 19:003 – 1Full Time
Viking — UEFA Champions League: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 at Villa Park in Champions League
Aston Villa won 3-1 against Viking at Villa Park on matchday 3 of the Champions League league stage, ending the Norwegian side's run of five games unbeaten. The hosts were in front by the 23rd minute and two goals clear by half-time, leaving Viking with a long evening of chasing.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Ross Barkley opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, finishing a chance created by Ibrahim Mbaye. Emiliano Buendía doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 37th minute, and Villa went into the interval 2-0 ahead.
The third arrived in the 62nd minute, when Henrik Heggheim turned the ball into his own net to make it 3-0. Viking pulled one back in the 84th minute, Peter Christiansen scoring from a Kristoffer Askildsen assist, but the deficit was never seriously threatened.
Villa return to Premier League action on Saturday 24 October at home to Manchester City, while Viking host Tromso in Eliteserien on Sunday 25 October.
Barkley scored the opening goal and earned the highest rating of any player on the pitch, 8.2. Mbaye supplied the assist for that goal and was rated 7.7.
Villa had 21 shots to Viking's 10, with 10 of them on target against three for the visitors.
Aston Villa beat Viking 3–1 (half-time 2–0).
Aston Villa met Viking in the UEFA Champions League (League Stage - 3). Kick-off was Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 19:00 UTC at Villa Park. Referee: Sebastian Gishamer.
Team pages: Aston Villa · Viking · UEFA Champions League
Key moments
- 23' Goal: Ross Barkley (assist: Ibrahim Mbaye) — 1–0 · Watch Ross Barkley's goal video (23')
- 37' Goal (penalty): Emiliano Buendía — 2–0 · Watch Emiliano Buendía's goal video (37')
- 62' Goal (own goal): Henrik Heggheim — 3–0
- 84' Goal: Peter Christiansen (assist: Kristoffer Askildsen) — 3–1 · Watch Peter Christiansen's goal video (84')
Starting line-ups
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
Viking (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Aston Villa 83%, the draw 11%, Viking 6%. It finished Aston Villa 3–1 Viking.
A big strength gap puts Aston Villa well clear — We give Aston Villa 83% mainly because they sit 350 points higher on our strength rating, 1870 to 1520, with the usual home advantage adding to it. The draw is at 11%, just under the usual rate for a gap this size, because both sides' own recent games average 3.8 goals.
Why Aston Villa at 83%?
Aston Villa sit 350 points higher on our strength rating — 1870 to 1520. Sides with a more than 240-point rating edge at home won 79.3% of 5,576 such games. The 300 most similar past games finished 84–11–5.
Why not higher?
No scored evidence points the other way. 83% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 11% and Viking at 6%.
Why is the draw only 11%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 11.8%. These teams' recent games average 3.8 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 23.2% of 17,071. The goals environment takes 1.0 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Aston Villa have averaged 5 percentage points more possession than Viking in recent games. That doesn’t change our forecast here. Viking have gained 70 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 39.8% of 11,244 such games vs 40.5% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Aston Villa vs Viking final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Champions League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Ross Barkley's goal against Viking (23').
- Watch Emiliano Buendía's goal against Viking (37').
- Watch Peter Christiansen's goal against Aston Villa (84').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Aston Villa 3–1 Viking. Explore more on the Aston Villa and Viking team pages or the UEFA Champions League page.